Highly transparent and highly conducting films of SnO₂:F were prepared by chemical vapour deposition technique. The films prepared at 350°C substrate temperature and 2·5 lit. min⁻¹ flow rate of oxygen showed maximum figure of merit. The optimum doping concentration of fluorine was 1·02 wt%. The Hall experiment showed that the films prepared at optimum conditions had high carrier concentration and high mobility.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the role of Al$_2$O$_3$ in the Li$_2$O–CaO–P$_2$O$_5$–SiO$_2$ bioactive glass for improving the bioactivity and other physico-mechanical properties of glass. A comparative studyon structural and physico-mechanical properties and bioactivity of glasses were reported. The structural properties of glasses were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electronmicroscopy and the bioactivity of the glasses was evaluated by in vitro test in simulated body fluid (SBF). Density, compressive strength, Vickers hardness and ultrasonic wave velocity of glass samples were measured to investigatephysical and mechanical properties. Results indicated that partial molar replacement of Li$_2$O by Al$_2$O$_3$ resulted in a significant increase in mechanical properties of glasses. In vitro studies of samples in SBF had shown that the pH of the solution increased after immersion of samples during the initial stage and then after reaching maxima it decreased with the increase in the immersion time. In vitro test in SBF indicated that the addition of Al$_2$O$_3$ up to 1.5 mol% resulted in an increase in bioactivity where as further addition of Al$_2$O$_3$ caused a decrease in bioactivity of the samples. The biocompatibility of these bioactive glass samples was studied using human osteoblast (MG-63) cell lines. The results obtained suggested that Li$_2$O–CaO–Al$_2$O$_3$–P$_2$O$_5$–SiO$_2$-based bioactive glasses containing alumina would be potential materials for biomedical applications.

A small amount of nickel oxide is doped in bioglass$^{\circledR}$ system and it is replaced by silica. The use of 45S5 glass composition is one such material able to bond strongly to bone within 42 days. The 45S5 bioglass$^{\circledR}$ system develops a hydroxyl carbonate apatite (HCA) layer, which is chemically and crystallographically similar to mineral phase of bone. But it has low fracture toughness and mechanical weakness due to an amorphous glass network andit is not compatible for load-bearing applications. In the present work, the effect of addition of nickel oxide that annualizes the improvement in its mechanical strength and bioactivity is studied. Bioactivity of base glass and doped glass samples were tested through their HCA abilities by immersing them in simulated body fluid (SBF) for different days. The formation of HCA was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and pH measurement. Densities and mechanical properties of samples were also increased considerably by increasing the concentration of nickel oxide.